Well surveying instrument



R. RING WELL SURVEYING INSTRUMENT Oct. 14, 1952 Filed March 20, 1946 FPGJ.

Rozza/ Patented ct. 14, 11952 2,613,448 WELL SURVEYING INSTRUMENT Roland Ring, Houston, Tex., assigner to Sperry- Sun Well Surveying Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporationof Delaware Application March 20, 1946, Serial No. 655,683 y This invention relates to a well surveying instrument, and has particular reference to the surveying of bore holes by the so-called go-devil method.

In the patent to Roland Ring 2,246,319, dated June 17, 1941, and in an application ci said Roland Ring Serial No. 379,885, led February 20, 1941, there are described -an instrument and methods of operating the same, which instrument` is characterized by a slow and continuous marking" action, specically electrolytic in `character, whereby a record of the position of the instrument within a bore hole is made only whenthe instrument remains stationary for an extended period of time. For aV better understanding of the nature of the present invention, which is not, however, limited for -its application to said instrument of the above mentioned patent and application, the operation of said Ring instrument may be described as follows:

If the instrument is run into a bore hole,

either within a drill stem or in an open hole byA means of a wire line or cable, the movements of 2 claims. (ci. 33--20555 the instrument incidental to its descent into the hole cause a pendulum to move about relative to a record member, so that even though current is continuously flowing from the pendulum to the record member, no point of the record member is exposed to the current actionfor a 'sufciently long time to receive a denite marking. When the instrument reaches the level at which a record of inclination is to be made, it is brought to rest and held in such position for a period of upwards of about one minutawlth the result that the electrolytic action is concentrated at one point of the record member and an easily distinguishable spot is made thereon. If it is then desired to make one or more additional records at other levels, the instrument is moved to these successive levels and permitted to remain at them for different periods of time, with the result that marks differing in intensity and/or size are produced which, by their nature, can

be identied with the particular levels through a knowledge of the relative times duringwhich the instrument was stationary. Following the completion: of the 4record Yor records, theinstrument is then withdrawn contiuously from the` hole and in this withdrawing movement, aswell as inthe periods ofmovement between the successive recordings, the pendulum will swing relative to the record member so that again no obliterating markings are produced.

In thel case of operation of the above type, the.4 i instrument is perfectly satisfactory and requires no timing means. whatever.y However, a commonr practice in the making of records with other types of surveying instruments involves their being dropped freely through a drill stem so that they come to rest in a position adjacent the bit. During this location in a position of rest, a record is made under the control of suitable timing means and the instrument is then recovered when the bit is brought to the surface, for example for the purpose of` changing the bit or checking its condition.

In the use of said Ring instrument in go-devil fashion, the motion of the instrument through the drill stem prevents the making of any record during its fall, and a record is then made by holding the drill stern stationary for a sufficient period or" time while the instrument rests adjacent the bit. Ii the drill stem was then raised and dismantled by continuous work of the drilling crew, the instrument would be subject to suinciently continuous agitation, with only quite limited periods of rest, so that no record-obliteratingmarkings would be produced on the record member. However, it is not usual for a derrick crew to workcontinuously in removing a drill stem from deep holes, and generally speaking, workmen, after raising the drill stem part way, will take a short period of rest before proceeding further. If an instrument of the Ring type is in the drill stem during such a period of rest, or any other period of stationary condition of the drill stem, it will be obvious that another record will be made which might be indistinguishable from the desired record unless a substantially different time of rest is involved, and even then in some rare instances, particularly wherethe hole is substantially straight, the two records may overlap so that the significance of the original one is lost. It is generally not desirable to rotatethe drill stem during such a period of l interruption of its withdrawal, and consequently, such rotation is not a practical solution to the problem.

The present invention relates to the provision ofv means for terminating the recording action of a recording instrument of the Ring or other type at a desired time. Specifically, this is accomplished through the use of inertia means set intooperation when the instrument, falling as a go-devil, reaches its position of rest in a drill stem.

This and other objects of the invention, particularly relating to details, will become apparent from the following description, read in conjunction with' the accompanying drawings, in which:

y Figure'l is a longitudinal sectional View through the lower portion of a well surveying instrument embodying the invention; and

Figure 2 is a similar sectional view through the upper portion of the same instrument.

The instrument illustrated in the drawings is basically of the type disclosed in said Ring application, .andrcomprises an inner casing adapted Ito be located` in av fluid-tight protective casing in use. The inner casing comprises tubes 2, 4, 6, and 8 joined by coupling members l0, I2, and'. I4. Threaded into the bottom of the. tube.2` is. a plug I6 on which may be secured`thev record member by means of a threaded;` ring.; 22` though the record member. may.; be.: secured.' in. the plug, for example. by depression within. au flanged portion thereof. This recordmembenas.. described in detail in said Ring patentl and'application, preferably comprises a sheet ofpaper. containing a colored material such as a colored metallic.- ferrocyanide which,l upon the passage of. anelectrical currentwhile itl ismoist, Will be marked with; a white spotby reason of the formationa of. alkali` at a. cathode provided by al metallic point 28-slidable within a pendulum 25' mounted for universal pivotal movement in a bear-ing', arrangement. 3U.A An insulating` ring 24 prevents short circuitingbyA preventing contact of-k the pendulumwiththe metallic wall of the tube 2.

Thebearing 3U, is mountedeat the lowerA end of. acylindrical pin. 32v which extends through. an opening,` in the. couplingy member I0. and is insulated ;therefrom .as indicated. Within a4 bore. in. rai-n.32. fissa. resistor 34, Lthe lower. lead-of which. is-.soldered w-ithin an .,openingvjin. the. member 32 while the .upperlead ofl this. resistor. iselectrically connected to acontact button 36, insulatedirom thetube32fand adjacent metallic parts, pn. which button may, rest the: bottom of thelowermost of. af group ofbatteries 38 arranged: inseries inilashlig-ht fashionand held withinaninsulating tube 4D. Contact with the positive poleof the uppermost battery .is vmade vbymeans of a metallic pin;42urgedfdownwardly, by aI springr44 which, in turn, mal;eselectrical contact with a-pin 46.

The-pin 42,2 spring 44and pin 46-are mounted. inan` insulating insert arrangement 48 Within.

ingV thefelectrical circuit through the pendulum,

resistor 34, and the batteries, tothe ground',-v provided by the casing` of theinstrument.

In'accordancewith the. present invention, there is'located above the coupling member l2 ele` ments-constituting'a .timing means having as its function the. opening of` the electrical circuit. through the pendulum after a predetermined period elapsesfollowing, the locationof the;r instrument in recording position.

For this `purpose. thepin. 46 is. electrically con.- nectedby a wire 52 with arspringv contact mem--r ber. 50` which is secured to an uppermostelement of thefinsulating assembly 48; Within the .tubel 8: there is provided a weight 52 which may be corr-.- Sderably more elongated' than illustrated ,inithe sil) drawing and which may be of substantial mass. This weight 52 rests upon a platform 53 which is urged upwardly by a spring 54 of suiicient strength to support the platform and weight, but, nevertheless, having a quite substantial deection under inertial action of the weight as will bepointed. out hereafter; Extending; downwardly from the platform 53-through an-.opening in the coupling I4 is a rod 56, the lower end of which takes the form of a rack 58 adapted to mesh. with a.. pinion =B0 to which is joined a ratchet' wheel 64, both being loosely mounted upon. atransverse ping-62.

A'lsotmounted onthe pin 62 is a gear B8 which carries a pawl 66,' spring pressed so as to be maintained in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 64'. The gear 68 through a train of pinions and gears generally indicated at l0 is arranged to drive a final pinion 12 which is securedfto a disc 14-carryinga y, member. 16 providing vanes` to which air will offer substantial. resistancelwhen rapid rotation of the. vanes. takes place. As will be evident from the figure.` the. gear ratio increases through thev series of pinions so that` a veryVV large number of revoluf.- tionswofthe flyV member 16 will correspondr tov a. single revolution of the gear 68. r

In the operation of theinstrument, after itis assembled.as-:indicated in thegures, itmay,V be located in its-protectivecasing, whereuponiti's. ready to befdroppedwithina. drill stemfor the. making-of onefor morerecords; The:preparation ofthe Jrecord disc-20 by moistening.` is carried fout. in. the. usual fashion as indicateddnfsaid Ring.v patent andapplication.

Prior-to. the lowering of. the; instrument,v the circuit throughthe pendulum 26 will be. open. though this at such timeis relatively immaterial inasmuchy as recording. will'. be prevented. either bythe movementsinvolvedin handling the instrument or by the inversionof the instrument.. which.lastconditionwill cause thepin 28 to drop Within theV pendulum 26 out of contact with the.; recording disc.

As, the. instrument :is `dropped within. the. drill stem, it isflikewise immaterial Whether-.the circuity through the pendulum is-openv or closed. IftheA circuit is.- closed, the; motions of the. pendulum willpreventany; pointof the-record member, from. being; exposed tor electrolytic.;actionV for. a sum ciently long time -to permit anymarking to occur; the electrolytic actionbeing; quiteslow, and no substantial marking-taking place unless theV pinI y 28 Vremains in .contactwith alparticular point on the4 record member for an extended.V period of; time, for-example, ofthe. order'ofat least thirty.v seconds;

For. simplicity, it may` berst considered thatv during4 the dropping of the. instrument within the drill stem, it does. not encounter any-v obr structions causing anysuchA retardation` of;l its motion as will cause the' spring, 54fto yield to permit contact betweenthe enlarged portionV 'I8Y of. the' plunger 56' andthe contact point82-of thespring, member'f, the plunger; 'I8 being. cutaWayas-indicated at soA that. suchcontact is; prevented sov longl asv the.: spring, 54; holds the` Weightfi! in.its,uppermostfposition Whenthe.; instrument. reaches the' bottomY of; the; dri1l;stem, however, itzwill befsuddenly.v arfrestedA Withthei. result thatA the weight152e continuing to move downvsuirdlyv byreasonzof its inv ertia. will substantially, compress.- the. spring 54', driving; downwardly` the. plunger. 562 Asithef. plungercmovesgdownwardly; it willgencounterthe,

springfcontact member Lbywhich, if it isnot.

already in mesh with the pinion G0, the rackii will be caused to mesh with the pinion androtateit and its ratchetfl in "a .counter-clockwise direction. As such rotation occurs, the ratchet teeth will freely pass thepawl Sii.

When the weight 52, however, reaches the lowermostvlimitof its movement and the spring 5i th'ereafterwurges it upwardly, it is not free to move upwardly since now the rack 58 will be held in tight mesh with the pinion 60 so that upward movement cannot occur without rotation of the pinion 66 which must be accompanied by drive of the pawl 66 by the ratchet wheel iid and through the pawl, the rotation of the gear train and the fly member 1E. The clockwork mechanism is thus, in effect, wound up and the action of the spring 54 thereafter is to raise the weight 52 slowly as determined by the speed of the fly member i5 limited by the resistance of the air. As a consequence, the enlargement i8 of the plunger 56 moves quite slowly upwardly relative to the spring contact member 82 which, as will be evident from the construction, will, during such action, effect closure of the circuit through the pendulum. The instrument is thus placed in condition for recording.

At this time, the instrument will rest at the bottom of the drill stem and as soon as the swinging motion of the pendulum 26 is suiiiciently damped to bring it to rest, the making of a record Will begin. From this point on, the recording operation is essentially identical with what is described in said patent and application, i. e.,

either a single record may be made or a plurality of records may be made by causing the drill stem to rest at different levels for predetermined different periods of time to secure records dis tinguishable from each other by either the intensity or diameter of the markings which are produced.

The timing mechanism is so constructed as to give an elapsed time during which recording can take place desirable for the particular operations required. If, for example, a single record alone is to be made, it is only necessary that a period of about three minutes should elapse before the weight 52 is brought by the spring 5t. to its uppermost position with a resulting opening of the contact between the enlargement 18 of the plunger 55 and the spring member 82. On the other hand, if a plurality of records is to be made, the timing action may be extended to ten minutes or more. This is, of course, subject to choice and depends solely on the relative ratio of the gear train, the mass of the weight 52, and the strength of the spring 54. If a long period is desired prior to interruption of the circuit, a conventional escapement may be substituted for the ily member '16. In general precise timing is quite unnecessary, a large error in the period being quite permissible. Consequently, the clockwork mechanism may be relatively crude through sturdy and positive in action.

When the predetermined period elapses, the circuit is open and from that time on, it is immaterial whether the instrument is in motion or stationary, since even if it is stationary, no recording action can take place. Thus, after the time determined by the operation just mentioned has elapsed, it is quite permissible for the withdrawal of the drill stem or motion thereof to be interrupted without occasioning the loss or obliteration of the record.

It may be noted that a possible arresting shock imparted to the instrument during its lowering does not interfere with .thelaction which has been described. If, for example, during the lowering the instrument violently strikes-a joint inthe drill stem or some other obstruction from which, however, it later glances off, to continue its downward motion, the arresting shock so imparted to the instrument may cause the weight 52 to descend by compression of the spring 54 with closure of the circuit through the pendulum. Following such shock, the` clockwork mechanism may operate and the weight may slowly move upwardly without, however, reaching its uppermost position before the instrument reaches its iinal location in the drill stem. Nevertheless, due to the fact that the instrument is in motion continuously, no record will be made, and if, when the instrument reaches its final position, the weight 52 is in some mid-position, this will not be at all material inasmuch as the final shock occurring when the instrument comes to rest will cause the weight to move fully downwardly so that the final timing action will have the same period as if the intermediate action due to shock had not occurred. In brief, the operator of the instrument will know that, irrespective of conditions encountered during the fall, the time elapsing between the instruments coming to rest and the opening of the electrical circuit will be essentially the same so that he will know when it will be permissible to permit the instrument to rest without having made any objectionable undesired record upon the disc 2li.

While the timing device has been illustrated as applied to the Ring type oi instrument, it will be obvious that it is oi general application to break electrical circuits or otherwise interrupt recording action of other types of well surveying instruments, for example, such instruments as utilize one or more lamps for photographic recording, and particularly instruments which, like the Ring instrument, depend upon a slow recording action for the production of records independent of timing means of conventional clockwork type adapted to be pre-set for time at the surface. Such an instrument, for example, is illustrated in an application of Smith, Ser. No. 399,085, filed June 21, 1941.

What I claim is:

l. A well surveying instrument comprising means for supporting a record member, electrically operating means for recording position of the instrument on said record member, and means for interrupting the recording action after a predetermined time interval following arresting of the instrument at its recording position comprising a weight, a spring supporting said weight, and a clockwork mechanism operated by the spring following strain thereof by the inertia of the weight when the instrument is arrested at its recording position.

2.' A Well surveying instrument comprising means for supporting a record member, electrically operating means for recording position of the instrument on said record member, and means for interrupting the recording action after a predetermined time interval following arresting cf the instrument at its recording position comprising a weight, means yieldingly supporting said Weight and timing means operated by said yielding supporting means following displacement of the supporting means by the inertia of the weight when the instrument is arrested at its recording position.

ROLAND RING.

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